One winter ago, Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein and General Manager Jed Hoyer acquired First Baseman Anthony Rizzo from the San Diego Padres in exchange for hard-throwing Right-Hander Andrew Cashner, one of the Cubs’ top pitching prospects at the time.

But this wasn’t Epstein’s and Hoyer’s first go-around with the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder, who – along with Cubs Senior Vice President of Scouting and Player Development Jason McLeod – drafted Rizzo while serving as Boston’s GM and Assistant GM, respectively, in 2007. The threesome reunited four years later and brought the 23-Year Old star-in-the-making over to the North Side:

“We believe Anthony has the potential to be a middle-of-the-order run producer for the Cubs for a very long time,” Hoyer said (link here). “He still has some development left. We feel what he’s done at age 20 at Double-A and Age 21 at Triple-A was remarkable.”

Anthony Rizzo enters 2013 with high expectations as the Cubs Opening Day First Baseman. He has come a long way since 2008.

And what Rizzo has done in his short professional career is truly nothing short of amazing. After missing most of 2008 overcoming Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Rizzo’s progression through the Minor Leagues has been fast and steady.

In 2011, Rizzo hit .331/.404/.652 with 26 Home Runs and 104 RBI in 93 Triple-A games. But in his big league call-up, he batted just .141/.281/.242 with 1 Home Run and 9 RBI in 49 games with the Padres, casting doubt whether or not his long swing would play against Major League pitching.

After trading for Rizzo, the Cubs worked on making his swing shorter and he responded with another huge season in Triple-A, where he hit .342/.405/.696 with 23 Home Runs and 48 RBI in 70 games. The Cubs called up Rizzo in late June and he continued to hit, batting .285/.342/.463 with 15 Home Runs and 44 RBI in 87 games. If you add up his 2012 totals between Triple-A and the Cubs, Rizzo hit 38 Home Runs in 652 Plate Appearances, or about one home run every 17 at bats.

When the Cubs traded for Rizzo, ESPN’s Keith law had this to say about the First Baseman (link here):

“He’s got a good feel for the strike zone, evident even during his Major League struggles, and the power to profile as an above-average or better First Baseman on offense. I’d rather have Rizzo than Yonder Alonso, and had Rizzo spent all of 2011 mashing in AAA, this trade would be viewed as a heist for the Cubs.”

So far, it looks like the Cubs stole Rizzo away from the Padres, a team that felt Alonso was a better long-term fit in San Diego’s Petco Park. Last year, Cashner pitched 46.1 Innings (mostly out of the bullpen), finishing the year with a 4.37 ERA and a K/9 of 10.32. He missed time with an oblique injury in 2012, and he’ll likely miss the start of 2013 after slicing his thumb in a winter hunting trip.

Rizzo, meanwhile, enters 2013 as the Cubs full-time First Baseman, and he’ll likely bat third or fourth in the lineup, with the Cubs expecting him to be one of the team’s premiere run producers alongside Alfonso Soriano.

Between Rizzo and ShortstopStarlin Castro, the Cubs have two young stars in the Infield capable of becoming perennial All-Stars. Rizzo profiles as an annual .275 – Batting Average, 30-Home Run threat, starting as soon as 2013. While Rizzo’s first season figures to be a learning curve of sorts, he’s responded to every challenge at every level, and there’s no reason to think he won’t do it again. Bet on Rizzo making his case for Cubs’ MVP in 2013.

Anthony Rizzo had been traded 2 times already in his career. If he can play well in Chicago, he might just be able to plant some roots down.

A big thank-you goes out toour ‘Cubs Correspondent’ Alex Kantecki for preparing today’s featured article. Alex is a Cubs fan to a fault. Sadly, his most memorable Cubs’ moment was watching the Cubs infamous 2003 postseason collapse while on a cruise somewhere in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. But because he’s a loyal fan, he didn’t jump ship. Alex has a degree in journalism (yay!), covered prep sports at the Northwest Herald and currently writes for faketeams.com, SB Nation’s fantasy sports blog. He lives north of Chicago, but hates ketchup on hot dogs nonetheless. Follow Alex on Twitter Follow @Akantecki

Please e-mail me at: mlbreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. To subscribe to our website and have the Daily Reports sent directly to your inbox, click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

Sully Baseball In Memoriam Video For All Baseball Family Who Passed From 2015 ASG – 2016 ASG

The Last No – Hitter For Each MLB Franchise Updated For Jake Arrieta Apr 21, 2016

The Last No - Hitter For Each Franchise -Updated every time there is a new no - hitter - click picture

Daily Roto Help DFS Picks

The Last Cycle For Each MLB Franchise – Updated for John Jaso 9/28/16

The Last Cycle For Each Franchise - Updated every time there is a new cycle- click picture

The MLB BallPark Pass-Port Is A Must Purchase For Those Planning To See All 30

The Ballpark Passport is quickly becoming the favorite item among Ballpark Chasers, to chronicle their life goal to see all 30 Major League Parks. You are able to receive the stamps kit for a small additional price. At around $75 all combined, it will contain one of the biggest memento's ever for a Ballpark Chaser's best bucket list wish ever#Greatgiftidea

The Top 50 Contracts ALL – Time in the MLB – Updated For The Stephen Strasburg Extension

A look at the richest 50 MLB Contracts Of ALL - Time. Click the picture

DEC. 9: The Cardinals are introducing Fowler at a press conference right now. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal reports that he receives a five-year, $82.5MM contract as well as a full no-trade clause (Twitter link). DEC. 8, 8:13pm: Heyman writes that there’s an agreement in place between the two sides, presumably pending tomorrow’s physical. 7:19pm: The Cardinals have a […]

6:59pm: Texas has announced the deal. 6:11pm: The Rangers and Braves have agreed to a trade that will send lefty Brady Feigl and righty Tyrell Jenkins to the Rangers, according to reports from Tommy Stokke of Fan Rag (via Twitter) and Keith Law of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Righty Luke Jackson is heading to Atlanta, Law adds…

Here are the latest minor moves from around the game: The Rangers have signed outfielder Cesar Puello to a minors deal, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. The deal includes an invitation to major league Spring Training. Still just 25, and once a well-regarded prospect with the Mets, Puello spent last year at Triple-A with the…

The Red Sox have announced that they’ve designated lefty Williams Jerez for assignment. The move clears roster space for first baseman Mitch Moreland, whose one-year deal is now official. The Red Sox drafted Jerez in the second round in 2011. They added him to their 40-man roster after the 2015 season, in which he posted…

Aroldis Chapman and the Yankees have agreed on a five-year deal worth $86MM, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal writes (Twitter links). Chapman will receive an $11MM signing bonus and $15MM per season, FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets. He can opt out of the contract after three years, and he has a full no-trade clause through the first three…